Different Exercises for Diabetes, By Calories Burned

Congratulations on making this far with Lark DPP! You are showing your commitment to your health, and that commitment is bound to pay off. 

The past few Lark DPP check-ins have talked about calorie balance and especially creating a calorie deficit. That is, to lose weight, you need to burn off more calories than you take in from foods and beverages. To burn more calories through physical activity, you can:

• Exercise for longer: if you burn, say, 150 calories in 20 minutes, you can burn 300 calories in 40 minutes.
• Exercise at a higher intensity: you can burn 50% more calories in the same amount of time if you walk briskly compared to if you walk slowly.
• Choose a different activity: you can burn 50% more calories doing aerobics compared to walking, or playing tennis compared to playing golf.

The Lark DPP check-in touched on the value of considering different activities so you can burn more calories in less time. It is also good to know which activities you can use to work different muscles in your body to balance your strength and increase calorie burn.

Here are some ideas for activities you can consider. They are grouped by range of approximate calories burned, and next to each activity is a list of muscle groups that are worked.

There are all kinds of activities to choose from. Most important is finding one or a few that you love. Beyond that, look for ones that help you get the workout intensity you want and work the muscles you want, too. Be sure to log your workouts in Lark so you can track them and get feedback on them. Your efforts will pay off!